Coolblue raises money to accelerate in Germany

Pieter Zwart, the founder of Coolblue, is selling 7.5% of his shares to co-owner HAL. The electronics retailer will use that money to accelerate its expansion in Germany, ‘the country with the fastest growth.’

‘Jetzt geht’s los’

Coolblue is injecting 150 million euros into expansion in Germany. The retailer plans to open 36 stores and nine delivery depots in the next few years, accounting for more than 1,500 additional employees. The company will also increase investments in brand awareness.

To finance the growth, major shareholder HAL will acquire another 7.5% of founder Pieter Zwart’s shares. That transaction should raise some 50 million euros of the total 150 million. HAL now holds the majority (65.4%) of the shares.

Five times bigger

For Coolblue, Germany is ‘the country with the fastest growth’, says Zwart, and holds a lot of potential. After all, the German electronics market is five times bigger than the Dutch market. Coolblue expects to realise around 200 million euros in revenue in Germany this year, because ‘German customers have higher customer satisfaction and come back the most’.

Before the end of this year, new stores will open in Frankfurt and Dortmund, and a third German depot in Hamm will be added in the fourth quarter. Currently, Coolblue has 307 employees in Germany.